Asking for a better price

Yes I did in fact. When I bought my laptop 2 years ago I forgot to buy a Wi-Fi router so I went back to the store where I purchased my laptop, before I went to the store I checked other stores for prices. When I got in and purchased the router I told the clerk about the prices on other stores and sure enough he gave me a discount.

 

I suppose if you know that the store you're buying from is charing a higher price, you could always push for a hard bargain or at the very least go for a matching price.

Bargaining does help in most cases. Often, if I'm shopping for something I always ask the guys at the store if they can offer a discount. The worst thing they can do is say "no."

Once in a while I've managed to buy something at a slightly lower cost than what was indicated by the price tag.

 

No, but my dad does it almost DAILY! In the UK we call it "haggling" and it turns my face red when my dad does it, I've witnessed him doing it in a charity shop! He once haggled with his step-son over a vase he wanted to buy off him - HIS OWN SON!

 

This is new to me. Up until reading this thread I didn't knew I can ask for a better price in stores. I'm curious if it works in my area since I imagine such requests are better suited for small family stores where the owner is also the employee. The only similar thing I did was when buying second-hand clothes, at the flea market. But that's how things usually go there, you haggle to get a cheaper purchase.

 

A good majority of stores will do price-matching, even if they don't advertise that they do.

Best Buy, for instance, will do this. I think they require you to have a physical copy advertising the item for the lesser price, or you should at least be able to bring it up on your phone. I went with one of my friends to purchase some parts for his laptop. He needed them immediately, but they were cheaper on NewEgg. He decided to go ahead and pay ~$10 more, and mentioned to the salesperson that they were cheaper elsewhere. They just asked him to pull it up on his phone and price-matched it.

You can also do this at places like Sears or Lowes when it comes to lawnmowers or "heavy duty" equipment. I was able to get a free pressure washer and some accessories for our lawnmower because I felt the price was unreasonable for what I was getting.

Never hurts to ask, really.

 

I actually bargain all the time whether at the market, supermarket, shopping malls, or any shops. I do get the price I wanted sometimes and it was great but they would tell me not to tell anybody because they don't want more people to ask for a cheaper price too just because there is an 'evidence'

 

I think if you haggle at a mall or some big establishment then I consider it to be quite inappropriate and embarrassing. It's a mall and their sales are scheduled, so if you want lower prices, then you have to watch out for those sales. But if it's just one of those small stores or thrift stores, then I will try to haggle.

 

I'm all for asking for a better price since in the worst case scenario you will be in the same position you were before asking for it.
I don't understand the point of price-matching though, if the exact same product is available in another store for a lower price, why don't you just buy it from the other store then?

 

Most of the time, it's more convient to just buy it at the store you're asking for a price-match on. I've actually had 2 big items i've bought in the past 6 months where I asked for a price-match and got it. Most smart businesses would much rather have the customer than let you walk out the door without selling anything. That was the case with my car and was able to buy it at a local dealership than have to drive a few hours to get the better deal.

 

A lot of companies will match prices that their competition offer. It doesn't hurt to ask. Chances are, they will say yes to make the sale. The thing is, the more sales you can make with a customer, the more they will likely purchase in the future. People have a tendency of becoming attached to certain stores. Everyone has that store that they always go to. So by matching the price, you create a customer that is likely to return.

 

I usually do this in thrift markets, but rarely do I ask for discounts in large stores. Although, now that you mention it, I'm not sure why I never do, and I think it is definitely good practice to do so as much as possible. I think it just has to do with my culture since we've been brought up to know how to bargain, but only in particular areas, as asking for a better price in a more official store might be frowned upon. It's probably okay to do for appliance stores, though, since they usually have better flexibility with their markup as compared to other businesses.

 

A lot of stores offer price matching guarantees. In this case, you could get the better price if you bring the lower price in with you, when you purchase the product. This can be done on certain sites as well. Ebay, for example offer a best price offer. This is where you can submit your highest bid to the seller. If they accept it, then you can get the product at a lower price. It can't hurt to try.